Increased revenue for covered parking structures
posted by agarden on 29 August 2007 20:48 Go to the market place Go to forum
Problem context :
Parking in major urban centers is becoming more and more valuable as the number of vehicles on the road increases. Indeed, in most North American urban centers more than 20% of the traffic on the road is actively searching for parking.
To further compound the problem, existing surface parking lots are being developed into mixed-use residential / retail with underground covered parking lots. The property yeild from these lots is in the best case less than 50% of the revenue generated by retail space.
Parking is at best a loss leader.
Proposed Solution :
By mounting small, inexpensive battery operated and wireless sensors over each stall in a parking garage, a central computer can be aware in real-time of the occupancy or vacancy of each space in that lot.
Consumers entering a lot can choose thier utility for parking; Less money for less appealing spaces and more money for more appealing spaces. This price segmentation is the business model that has driven revenue increases at the gas pump, in commercial air travel and has for years defined the revenue model in concert venues.
In addition, by varying the price of parking depending on the occupancy level of the facility, we introduce a demand management component that can ensure that prices always reflect demand and facility owners are maximizing their revenue potential in real-time.
Finally, by connecting each facility's central computer to a consumer focused online reservation system we can enable consumers to pre-book parking as they enter the urban center, dramatically cutting down the estimated 20% of excess traffic on the road. This reduction in traffic yeilds a net increase in the efficiency of the urban road network and results in a direct benefit to the municipality which should translate to tax benefits for facilities that adopt this system.
Submissions (11)
Your car should become intelligent
answered by Prakash on 18 September 2007 20:36
Interesting idea. With the GPS and on-board navigation based products are getting commoditizing now, this kind of system will become part of one's car in near future. However, in order to find a mass market, a stand alone product should be available for customers to plug into their cars. Mobile phone being a ubiquitous device now, a solution can be proposed based on that. To develop a product like this, ideally we can look at the available resources. As ChrisNo mentioned below, many parking garages have cameras for security. A basic image comparison software can find out the available space, and send this information to all registered users (assume that as a mobile phone customer I can subscribe for a service like this) within 10 miles radius to the parking space. I get an SMS with the details, or this information with a driving direction on my mobile phone (if I have a GPS in it), or a standalone GPS/GSM/CDMA device installed in my car.
In the wild
answered by ClockworkAvian on 6 September 2007 3:37
Portland International Airport has a system that recognizes open parking spots. I'm not sure if they're connected to a central system, but they do have a ceiling light above each space that shines red if occupied and green if open. Very handy, and is an example of a similar system in the wild.
I have heard of a company in New Zealand that has already deployed carpark sensor systems...
answered by hazbut on 1 September 2007 15:31
I can't find the email, but will update this post when I find the name of the company. The company manufactured small sensors installed in each carspace in a carpark, or on the road. They were used to automatically send messages to PDAs being carried by parking officers if a vehicle had overstayed the time limit. I consider this a great potential system that local government would be extremely interested in… with considerable increase in fine revenue while decreasing road traffic. Portable GPS units often have a carpark button, it would be great if they could find the nearest carpark, reserve it, and direct you to the park. Most cars in major cities in Australia have 'etags' for electronic road tolling, there is potential that you could use these tags for automated payment systems. (cities in Singapore already to a similar thing with prepaid RFID systems for parking and tolling, but I have never seen sensors per carpark space) Great idea!
subsidise the less expenisve ones
answered by bean123 on 31 August 2007 22:49
Advertisements could be posted in front of the majority of spots as well. That way the prime spots become more valuable and the less prime spots generate income equal to the prime spots.
a googlemaps mashup for the reservation system
answered by pedxing on 30 August 2007 0:32
Being able to reserve a slot AND get directions to your parking spot in an unfamiliar town would save about 1000 hassles and would see even greater decreases in excess traffic and gasoline usage, and possibly even help raise sales figures in areas with a shopping/entertainment/commercial focus. More happy shoppers = more dollars in your local businesses pockets.
Your car should become intelligent
answered by Prakash on 18 September 2007 20:36
Interesting idea. With the GPS and on-board navigation based products are getting commoditizing now, this kind of system will become part of one's car in near future. However, in order to find a mass market, a stand alone product should be available for customers to plug into their cars. Mobile phone being a ubiquitous device now, a solution can be proposed based on that. To develop a product like this, ideally we can look at the available resources. As ChrisNo mentioned below, many parking garages have cameras for security. A basic image comparison software can find out the available space, and send this information to all registered users (assume that as a mobile phone customer I can subscribe for a service like this) within 10 miles radius to the parking space. I get an SMS with the details, or this information with a driving direction on my mobile phone (if I have a GPS in it), or a standalone GPS/GSM/CDMA device installed in my car.
Your car should become intelligent
answered by Prakash on 18 September 2007 20:36
Interesting idea. With the GPS and on-board navigation based products are getting commoditizing now, this kind of system will become part of one's car in near future. However, in order to find a mass market, a stand alone product should be available for customers to plug into their cars. Mobile phone being a ubiquitous device now, a solution can be proposed based on that. To develop a product like this, ideally we can look at the available resources. As ChrisNo mentioned below, many parking garages have cameras for security. A basic image comparison software can find out the available space, and send this information to all registered users (assume that as a mobile phone customer I can subscribe for a service like this) within 10 miles radius to the parking space. I get an SMS with the details, or this information with a driving direction on my mobile phone (if I have a GPS in it), or a standalone GPS/GSM/CDMA device installed in my car.
May apply for the movies and theaters too
answered by boinvestor on 16 September 2007 4:49
Back in 1994 while studying in the university, I remember we had an Entrepreneur class which was obligatory for everyone studying an engineering major. A contest was held every semester and I remember a classmate proposed this idea but specifically for the movie theater seats, so customers could check at the entrance, which seats were available. Now, reading through this idea, the same principle can be applied both for the movie theater and the movie parking lot. Have you ever been late to your movie because you cannot find a place to park your car?? I am sure movie theater businesses like Cinemark or other would be interested in this devices which can give customers an idea of where to park their car to save time and fuel by the way, and then save them time by letting them know where to find an available seat. This could also be applied for concerts and any kind of massive events, like going to the baseball, football or basketball stadium. Marketing agencies would also be interested in posting publicity on the screens where customers look for the information on where to find available spaces. Never been late for your flight? This can also apply for the airport parking lots. Personally I consider this to be a very reliable opportunity, high potential.
Vote Here
100%
0%
opportunity
risk
Camera-based spot tracking
answered by ChrisNo on 30 August 2007 1:39
Many parking garages have cameras for security. You could piggyback on those feeds, comparing the live images against stored "empty lot" images. Smart software does the interpretation. There are some privacy implications to using cameras, but if they're already in use, it might be a cheaper solution than spot-by-spot hardware.